What Are the Benefits of Information Technology in Education?

Information technology may assist in the facilitation of learning or serve as the actual educational structure allowing learning to occur. Information technology benefits both traditional brick-and-mortar education institutions and online educational models in fundamental ways. For example, multimedia presentations, knowledge-management software, video conferencing, cloud computing and collaborative document editing are notable information technology services benefiting education.

Multimedia Presentations

o    Multimedia presentation software empowers both educators and learners to organize, present and consume information in novel ways. For example, multimedia software enables educators to create a tailor-made presentation pertaining to any subject matter involving a complete audio-visual narrative experience. In addition, advanced multimedia software can empower educators to design audio-visual narrative themes involving the student's actual participation (learning video games). Adobe Flash offers industry-standard products assisting developers in creating such applications.

Knowledge-Management Software

o    Knowledge-management software involves categorizing information specific to the learning style of the student. For example, knowledge-management software can empower the user to modify, construct and manipulate information in order of relevance and embed information into audio-visual icons for later rapid recall. As a result, knowledge-management software becomes highly personal, content-rich and hyper-specific to the information consumption preferences of the learner.

Video Conferencing

o    Video conferencing represents a major benefit of information technology to education. Video conferencing allows seminars and lectures to occur regardless of proximity. For example, a classroom full of students can participate in a lecture from a remote location while it's actually occurring. Students' resulting greater accessibility to leaders of academia pertaining to their subject matter benefits both education and society as a whole.

Cloud Computing

o    Cloud computing empowers students and educators to store their data on a remote server as opposed to their own computer. This allows educators and students to access their data from any computer and from a variety of commuting devices. For example, students will no longer lose their homework to unpredictable forces or hungry canines. With cloud computing, homework can be stored safely on alternative platforms. Multiple copies are backed up on these remote computers and are easily accessible with an Internet connection.

Collaborative Document Editing

o    The ability to collaboratively edit documents from various locations is another benefit of information technology in education. For example, students and educators utilizing cloud computing to store their homework can also modify the document's access settings to allow multiple editors and contributors to participate in an assignment. This empowers educators to design work assignments for teams of students working together and, in so doing, cultivate a teamwork ethos preparing them for the workplace.

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